Compact vacuum cleaner

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner is constructed of relatively rigid, molded plastic main structural elements including a direct collecting tank and a motor housing releaseably secured to each other by a buckle. The main structural plastic elements also include a fan housing wherein a centrifugal fan rotates, a mounting plate to which the motor is secured; and a baffle member having a cup formation which receives the rear of the motor. A common fastening means mechanically secures the fan housing, the plate, and the baffle members to the motor housing. A releaseable latch is at one end of the buckle and a hook at the other end thereof. The latch holds the tank and motor housing together, and the hook is for engaging a wall bracket to mount the cleaner in a vertical position. The buckle also includes a skid portion, located between the latch and hook, to facilitate movement of the cleaner along a horizontal supporting surface. Hundreds of relatively small apertures in the mounting plate are arranged in a narrow band adjacent the periphery of the fan so as to provide for the passage of air through the motor mounting plate without creating excessive back pressure while maintaining quiet conditions in spite of high speed air flow.

I claim: 
     
       1. A vacuum cleaner including a casing comprising a tank section for storing dirt picked up by said vacuum cleaner, and a housing section to the rear of said tank section; a fan means within said casing; a motor disposed within said housing section and having an output shaft drivingly connected to said fan means to create a main air stream flowing through said casing by drawing air into said tank section through an inlet at the front thereof and exhausting air through an outlet at the rear of said housing; said shaft extending in a front to rear direction and said main air stream moving longitudinally of said shaft to cool said motor; first means defining a chamber in front of said motor and within which said fan means is rotatably disposed; wheel means at one end of said casing; a buckle member mounted on one of said sections and including a latch portion operatively engageable with a cooperating formation in the other of said sections to releaseably secure said sections together; said buckle member also including a skid portion engageable with a surface on which said wheel means rests to support said vacuum cleaner in a position generally parallel to such surface; said buckle also including a hook portion engageable with a wall bracket for hanging said vacuum cleaner in a vertical position. 
     
     
       2. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 1 in which the skid portion is between the latch portion and the hook portion. 
     
     
       3. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 2 in which the buckle is mounted to the tank section and the hook portion is at the front of the buckle. 
     
     
       4. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 3 in which the wheel means is at the rear of the housing section. 
     
     
       5. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 4 in which the skid portion that is engageable with a surface upon which said wheel means rests is elongated in said front to rear direction. 
     
     
       6. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 3 in which the skid portion that is engageable with a surface upon which said wheel means rests is elongated in said front to rear direction. 
     
     
       7. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 2 in which the wheel means is at the rear of the housing seciton. 
     
     
       8. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 2 in which the skid portion that is engageable with a surface upon which said wheel means rests is elongated in said front to rear direction. 
     
     
       9. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 1 in which the skid portion that is engageable with a surface upon which said wheel means rests is elongated in said front to rear direction. 
     
     
       10. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 9 in which the wheel means is at the rear of the housing section. 
     
     
       11. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 1 in which the buckle is mounted to the tank section and the hook portion is at the front of the buckle. 
     
     
       12. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 1 in which the wheel means is at the rear of the housing section.